Douglaston Manor’s New Restaurant

Run - do not walk - to the Douglaston Manor’s new dining room. They have built a reputation, under the watchful eyes of owners Claudia Hubbard and Guerino Cavaliere, as a first class catering hall. Now they have opened an intimate, charming room for dinner.
My husband Stu and I ate there last week. They are only open on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday until New Year’s, after which time they anticipate opening more often.
The dining room has a handsome mahogany bar at one end with a friendly, well-trained bartender, Arturo, who prepared a perfect martini for each of us. The room is done in a subdued burnt orange with candlelit tables, perfect for us ladies. The dining room seemed to sparkle because it is so beautifully decorated for the holidays. The restaurant is contiguous to the park-like setting of the Douglaston Golf Course. Claudia has decorated the trees outside with lights and it adds to the ambiance of the restaurant. There is a beautiful terrace where, on a lovely day, on previous visits, I enjoyed looking out on the rolling greens of the golf course, making me feel like I was in the country or the heavily-treed suburbs.
They are offering a prix fixe menu at $12.99, which includes a plate of pasta, a cup of soup or salad and a soft drink. What a bargain. I think it is cheaper than eating at home.
It is a family friendly environment and there were several family groups there the night I was there. The pasta menu offers a wide variety of choices from simple spaghetti garlic and oil to spaghetti alla carbonara (with roasted Italian bacon tossed with eggs and parmigiano cheese). We chose to eat from the a-la-carte menu.
The handsome young waiter shared the evening’s specials of the night. The chef offered a mushroom risotto in a crusty parmigiano cheese basket. It was too irresistible. So we ordered that. The chef also offered an orata - whole fish prepared anyway I liked.
From the menu, we ordered the antipasto - soft creamy mozzarella cheese accompanied by ripe red slices of tomatoes to begin. Then another special was the stracciatella soup. The egg drop broth had spinach floating and I added pieces of sausage meatballs, making it an Italian wedding soup - delicious!
The a-la-carte menu offered several other fish and meat choices. Stu ordered sliced steak that arrived juicy on a bed of spinach accompanied by crispy shoestring potatoes.
My whole fish, which I like to debone myself, was accompanied by a perfectly-cooked saut/ed broccoli rabe.
We ordered a red wine to accompany the meal and there were several choices priced under $20 on the extensive wine menu. They also offered several good wines by the glass. I was happy because they had my favorite, not often found by the glass, of Shiraz.
Of course, no meal is complete without dessert. That evening the chef offered a creamy tiramisu and a moist and tasty Italian cheesecake. A fitting ending to a delightful and delicious meal.
There is plenty of free parking which is a bonus. The Douglaston Manor is hidden off Marathon Parkway in Douglaston. It made me feel like I had a real getaway from the hectic world we all live in. Claudia has created a warm nurturing environment. Try it, you’ll love it.